A Picture of Your Soul?

Soul

It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll; I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley 1849-1903, British Poet, Critic, Editor

Ps 19:7-10
The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. NASU

We are complicated creations, we are fearfully and wonderfully made, it says in God’s Word. St. Augustine, the famed Theologian of 354-430, once said this of the soul that stirs within each of us; “Who can map out the various forces at play in one soul? Man is a great depth, O Lord. The hairs of his head are easier by far to count than his feeling, the movements of his heart.”

How are you feeling this morning, how well does your soul rest within you? I love that old hymn, It Is Well With My Soul,” it was written in a time of wrenching pain and loss, by a man that had lost the dearest possessions he had, his family. Yet, there was in the midst of those feelings, peace in his soul. The religious reformer Molinos wrote, “Thou are never at any time nearer to God than when under tribulation; which he permits for the purifications and beautifying of thy soul.

The soul, just as the body lives by what it feeds on, and it is as St John of the Cross said, destined to death if it is tied by any tether at all, whether by chain or thread, to the things of this world. It is delicate, and most importantly it is reserved wholly for the Lord. There need not be disturbances in our soul, if, we cling to The Law of The Lord, then it will be, as is stated in His word, the restorer of our soul. When we are weak, and when we are weary, and when feelings are beyond words, His Word is the healing and protecting ointment of our very existence.

Aristotle said, the soul never thinks without a picture, and that is true. We must realize that we as individuals have been given souls, and we are individually responsible to God for their health. Picture this day the condition of your soul, is it healthy? Have you fed it well? Is it resilient to stand up in heat of tribulation, and rest anchored in the hands of God? If not cut loose the contaminating presence of this world, and let it feast again of the pure things of God, purer than gold, sweeter than honey, is the respect and fear of the commandments of our LORD, He makes things simple again…God Bless.

Pastor William